


Something About December

by Shamera



Series: Impressions-verse [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: Christmas fic, F/M, Gen, M/M, New World AU, UNEDITED HAY, happy happy fluff fluff, in which the gang grew up with each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 13:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2853221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shamera/pseuds/Shamera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Serah's been planning the perfect Christmas party. Which means nothing can go wrong... right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something About December

**Author's Note:**

> So hey! This is entirely unedited and I apologise for that, but I managed to finish it on Christmas Day so hurray? I've been awfully distracted lately, but I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season! Stay safe, stay warm, and remember that even if everything feels like a disaster, good things WILL come around, even if it's later on.

It was three days before Serah’s Christmas party (which was more of a winter solstice party except with gifts and Christmas dinner, since that was the date she made them book off rather than request that they actually spend Christmas day with her), Noel had to call from his grandmother’s landline to cancel.   
  
“I’m sorry,” he told her, genuinely apologetic. She had been reminding them about her party for the entire month, a quick text reminder on their phones every week to leave that day free. “But Yeul’s flight comes in that night, and Caius never really likes this time of year so he tends to get really pissy so I need to do everything I can to entertain him in case he tries getting into an argument with nana ‘cause _she’s_ been stressed about the holiday season as well.”  
  
Thanks to his early finals, Noel’s winter vacation was already well into its first week, which meant he had spent the past week carrying mysterious packages for his grandmother while she went shopping and cleaning while he searched dusty corners for Christmas candles and tablecloths. Those were the easy tasks, though. The harder ones would appear when Caius and his grandmother were put in the same room.  
  
That tended to be a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.   
  
He had spent the last three Christmases playing peacekeeper alongside Yeul, and was honestly starting to weigh the pros and cons of just skipping out on Christmas altogether in his head, feigning some kind of emergency that would take him back to school so that he could spend most of vacation in the quiet and normalcy of Hope’s apartment, too far to be called in on a whim.   
  
...If it weren’t for Yeul. He would deal with all the holiday awkwardness, tenfold, just to see his favourite cousin again.   
  
“Oh,” Serah sounded disappointed, but then her voice perked up over the phone. “Why don’t you bring them to the party as well? I’m sure the rest of us can run interference if things get bad. More people means more distractions, right? And I’d love to see Yeul again! I haven’t seen her since she was… what? Thirteen?”  
  
Noel made a low humming noise in thought. “...That might work.”  
  
Anything to keep Caius out of the same room his grandmother was in. The two couldn’t seem to stand each other’s opinions and worldviews, which frequently led to shouting in different languages and the neighbors complaining.   
  
“When’s the plane landing?” Serah asked.   
  
“Seven-thirty.” He told her, and then thought about it. “Although I wouldn’t bank on that airline being on time. Factor in some delays and security, they won’t be out until almost nine, probably. But Caius is really good at securing transportation. He actually doesn’t like anyone ‘picking him up’, so to say. I can just give him the address to your place… probably don’t want to wait for them when it comes to dinner, though.”  
  
“That sounds good.” Serah gushed. “I can schedule that in as well. Light’s flight isn’t until early morning, so we’d all be able to have a great Christmas night that’s not, well, on Christmas. Everything’s going to go perfectly!”  
  
.

.  
  
That had been the idea, anyway.  
  
The morning of the party, Noel decided to head over to help out, only to be met with chaos.   
  
“Lana swallowed a lego,” Serah told him, hair in a disarray as she strapped the wailing toddler to her car seat. “I’m taking her to the doctors — but I read about this. It should be okay. I just been to make sure to keep a close eye on her and keep her away from her brothers before they feed her _more_ toys.”  
  
She made a pained expression as dual giggling came from behind the car.   
  
“Lebreau’s going with me on this.” She told him as she sat down into the driver’s seat. “And Snow’s going to do the prep for Christmas dinner. If you could keep him from burning down the house, that would be great.”  
  
“Uh…” Noel couldn’t seem to get a protest out before she said her farewell and closed the door, starting up the car engine and backing out of the driveway to leave him standing at the front of her house, gaping at her. Not to mention the two brats who were both grinning widely at him.   
  
He had a bad feeling about the day.   
  
.

.  
  
“Right, so today should be fine.” Snow reassured him, the tall blond with one shaggy-haired child under each arm and a frilly pink apron on top of his dark turtleneck and jeans. His kids shrieked happily from under his arms, struggling fiercely, although Snow didn’t seem to notice at all. “Serah’s got a list of what needs to happen every hour through the day. We don’t have too much to do since the house has already been cleaned and she, uh…” Snow raised a shoulder to itch the side of his face, seemingly undeterred by the children struggling to get away. “Okay, so her instructions were to make sure the kids don’t mess everything up.”  
  
“We don’t mess _anything_ up!” The older boy shouted happily.  
  
“Yeah, we’re _angels_!”  
  
“They’re little liars, that’s what they are.” Snow told him cheerfully. “Did Serah tell you they tried to off Lana by feeding her things she can’t eat? Last week it was marbles and this week it’s apparently legos. That’s why they’re grounded until next year.”  
  
“Wow.” Noel intoned dryly, tying the arms of his sweater around his waist and rolling up his sleeves. “That sounds so… effective.”  
  
“It will be once Sis comes back from her trip.” Snow grumbled, finally letting the kids down. The boys whooped their success and raced away and up the stairs, already shouting at each other about games and what the loser would have to do. “I’m letting them enjoy their freedom while they can. Pretty sure Lightning’s designing a sort of at-home boot camp for them next year. Said something about them finally being old enough.”  
  
Suddenly, Noel didn’t quite envy those kids. He placed his hands on his hips and asked, “So what needs to be done first?”  
  
.

.  
  
It turned out the Sazh and Dajh were going to arrive a few hours after noon from a trip to Dajh’s grandmother’s house, and Serah was supposed to be the one to greet them while Snow kept the kids out of trouble, possibly getting Lebreau to babysit the few hours while dinner was supposed to be cooked.   
  
Hope was to arrive a little after five, having taken a few hours off work in order to get there early since he didn’t exactly have days off outside of two days for Christmas and two days for New Year’s.   
  
“That’s almost a week.” Hope told him before Noel left for winter break, taken aback by the younger man’s lament that it wasn’t good enough. “It’s more than I usually take off for the holiday season.”  
  
“Most people get two weeks.” Noel had whined then, reaching to catch Hope’s attention before they parted for the holidays.   
  
“No,” Hope said then, unaffected by the brunet’s tone, “that’s just students.”  
  
Which was what prompted the discussion now, with Snow laughing uproariously at Noel’s plight as they both loitered in the kitchen, Noel with his head in his arms face down sitting at the island counter and Snow with frilly pink mittens on to accompany his frilly pink apron, pulling out the tin-foiled Christmas turkey with pre-sliced vegetables and seasoning to put the finishing touches on before throwing the entire monstrosity in the oven.   
  
“So I’m just some dumb college kid,” Noel moaned into his arms, voice muffled. “I’m mature, right? I’ve never gotten into trouble with the law, never done drugs, I don’t even drink! That’s a personal preference. I cook, I manage my time, I have a job even if it’s part-time — I’ve got my whole life together. I thought I had my whole life together. What if I don’t have my life together? Oh, no… _I’m a lost cause._ ”  
  
It had been a nagging thought in his head ever since he came back, but it was something he hadn’t been able to share with his grandmother. She was too— much of his _grandmother_ , she’d obviously say whatever made him feel better. And while it didn’t feel good to hear Snow laughing at him, he might be able to get some decent advice.   
  
“Listen, kid,” Snow spoke up, tone slightly hoarse from how hard he had laughed. The blond was pushing the cut potatoes into the oven tray and attempting to arrange them artfully. “I’m sure that’s not what he means by that— oh, okay, it might be exactly what he means by that: that you’re a college student and should go enjoy your vacations before they end. But I’m sure he doesn’t think of you as just some dumb kid. Trust me, Hope’s got no patience for lost causes. I should know: he still thinks I’m one of them.”  
  
Snow laughed at the self-admission.   
  
“I’m sure you’re doing great. Maybe you’re just reading too much into things… like that time when Hope came back— remember? During the summer?”  
  
Noel glared up from the safety of his arms, already anticipating the familiar teasing for an age old tale everyone seemed to love bringing up. “Okay. Fine. Let’s dig up the embarrassing memories again, why not. You mean the summer Nana got me a toy guitar and I snuck out at midnight to try and serenade Hope with the lousy lullabies I learned?”  
  
“And your grandmother called the police when she found you missing, and you broke Hope’s window with a rock trying to get his attention?” Snow grinned wolfishly. “Ahh. Good times. It’s not often someone ups me in cheesy and completely disastrous romantic endeavors.”  
  
Noel covered his face with his hands, groaning. “I was _eleven_!”  
  
Snow only laughed more before he opened the oven door and slid the tray inside, closing it before turning up the dial for the temperature. He pulled off his oven mitts then, tossing them on the island counter and deciding to pull out a chair to sit next to Noel to better make fun of him.   
  
“It worked out back then, right? He didn’t blame you, Mrs. Estheim loved you, and… well, Mr. Estheim can be a bit scary, don’t take it personally. Besides, Hope learned how to read sheet music that summer just so he could teach it to you.”  
  
Noel lifted his head from his arms, surprised. “What? I thought he already knew it.”  
  
“Point is,” Snow continued on, although Noel made a point to remember that little detail so he could nag more information out of the man later on it, “You used to cry to Serah back then about how your whole life was over and how Hope would hate you, but everything turned out just fine.”  
  
“How do you know that?” Noel hissed darkly. “I made her pinky swear to never tell anyone!”  
  
Snow pointed a finger to himself through the thick pink oven mitts. “Married. That means I have immunity.”  
  
Noel huffed, leaned back down onto the cool granite of the island counter, hunched over as he curled his arms and dropped his chin down. “I’m never telling her secrets again.”  
  
“Sure you will,” Snow told him cheerfully. “Probably by the end of today, too.”  
  
Noel would have protested if he hadn’t smelt something suspicious in the air at that moment, and he scrunched up his face in protest. “...What’s burning?”  
  
“What?” Snow stopped as well, and then took a sniff of the air before his eyes widened and he scrambled out of his seat to skid over to the oven, which was now emitting a light black smoke. He opened the open door only to yelp as flames greeted his sight, and even Noel was out of his chair now to race for the faucet and water to douse the ever rising flames.   
  
The blond attempted to rescue the turkey, only to shout and draw back immediately as his bare hands touched to oven pan for a split second, and he dove for the faucet just as Noel splashed his mug of water into the oven to try and douse the flames. It didn’t so much, although the yellow flames did flicker back for a moment as Noel went back to the faucet to fill up more water.   
  
It took several minutes of unsynchronized chaos before they managed to put out the flames in the oven and investigate how it caught on fire in the first place.   
  
“We might need a new turkey.” Noel pointed out, poking at the scorched lump with a mittened finger. Serah was going to like this one bit — he had been hearing all about her attempts at turkey basting and how long it took her to marinate and make all her own stuffing…   
  
Snow, on the other hand, was working on pulling out items from the back of the oven neither of them had seen earlier. It was blackened and nearly crumbling, and probably what started the fire in the first place, seeing as they weren’t supposed to be in the oven at all, much less at the back plugging up the vent.   
  
“What _are_ those?” Noel asked, leaning over the counter where the charred turkey was proudly displayed.   
  
Snow took the items out of the oven gingerly, and then brought to closer to his face, where he sniffed it and then made a loud and disgusted noise. “Don’t know why I did that. It looks like… one of Lana’s dolls?”  
  
Now that he had a frame of reference, it actually did look a bit like a smoldering doll with several limbs already burned off. There was still a button eye, though, for Noel to make out where the face once was.   
  
As if on cue, there were shrieks of laughter from the hallway on the stairs before the sounds of footsteps running up the stairs and a door slamming. Snow did not look impressed.   
  
“You get them.” Noel offered, and gestured to the oven with his mittened hands. “I’ll clean this up.”  
  
“Thanks.” Snow told him, and tossed the crumbling down into the sink before peeling off his oven mitts and heading toward the staircase, shouting, “Kids! Locking yourselves up won’t get you out of trouble this time!”  
  
Noel listened for the rapid footsteps up the stairs and then turned his attention back to the blackened area of the oven, the soggy and burnt turkey, the wet countertop… he sighed, standing straight as he slipped off the nice oven mitts. Time to get out the rubber gloves and start cleaning up. He wasn’t sure if they would be able to try again with the turkey, but at least the oven didn’t seem permanently damaged, and the house hadn’t burnt down…   
  
Cleaning this up would be easier than coming up with a proper punishment for the kids.   
  
.

.  
  
Two hours later, Serah came back home with Lana in her arms just as Sazh’s car pulled into the driveway. They greeted each other with laughter and anecdotes as Noel struggled to get the kitchen as pristine as it could be once again, throwing sooty and wet towels straight into the laundry, although he didn’t turn it on. He could hear their voices through the windows, muffled, as the front door finally opened and the laughter became that much louder and clearer.   
  
He could tell when she reached the kitchen by the loud gasp. Noel looked up from where he was throwing the last of the paper towels away, and held up both hands to placate her. “It’s not as bad as it looks—”   
  
“What happened here?” Serah demanded, her voice shrill. Little Lana, who wasn’t crying anymore but was instead sucking peacefully on her pacifier with her head against Serah’s shoulder, clapped both hands over her ears gleefully, prompting Serah to lower her voice as she continued, “What happened to the turkey? What in the world happened while I was gone?!”  
  
“Whoa.” Sazh commented, leaning up to look easily over Serah’s head. “Was there a fire?”  
  
“There might have been,” Noel admitted reluctantly, although he raised his arms to shush Serah’s words before she could continue. “Snow’s out looking for a place that sells cooked turkeys. Your kids are upstairs and not to move until they finish some maths assignment as punishment for sticking dolls into the oven. I know this is a huge set-back, but the house didn’t burn down and everyone’s fine and, uh… well, the oven’s broken and you’re going to need to call someone in about that.”  
  
Serah didn’t look in the least bit appeased, but it was Sazh who put a hand on her shoulder to draw her attention, and then offered a sympathetic smile. “These things do happen when you’ve got kids in the house.”  
  
“I’m going to kill those two.” Serah declared darkly, and then smiled brilliantly at the two of them, making Noel draw back slightly in case she did something… frightening. He didn’t remember ever being that scared of her when she had been his babysitter. “If you two will excuse me, then…”  
  
She handed Lana off to Sazh, who took the toddler carefully, and Lana laughed around her pacifier, hands already trying to reach and grasp onto Sazh’s afro, cooing as he moved his head away from her inquisitive fingers.   
  
“Where’s Dahj?” Noel asked instead, changing the topic as he realized that he didn’t see the cheerful teenager anywhere.  
  
“Out with his friends.” Sazh informed him, and then winced as Lana slapped her hand against his face. “Would you quit that? He had a few friends who called him up for a Christmas party, and I said it’d be alright if he— Lana!”  
  
“Fuh-zey.” The toddler worked out the words, spitting out her pacifier. Luckily, the object was on a string around her neck and therefore only fell down to her chest as she blew spit bubbles at Sazh happily and patted his face with both hands. “Har. Ha-aaaair. Fuh-zey.”  
  
“Well,” Noel observed with bemusement. “I guess she’s not going to die from eating that lego.”  
  
“Yeah, Serah was just telling me about that.” Sazh said, attempting to dodge Lana’s hands while still holding her. “Kids eat stuff like that all the time. So long as it’s not sharp or poisonous, and they don’t choke on it, most little things will pass straight through. She might have a bellyache, but she’ll be just fine.”  
  
“Fuh-zey!” Lana shrieked happily against Sazh’s ear, and then burst into giggles.  
  
.

.  
  
Snow called with bad news about half an hour later, and though Noel couldn’t hear his side of the conversation (which seemed the most prominent seeing as Serah was declining to respond), he could see by the pink-haired woman’s face that the news wasn’t good.   
  
She gave him a wan smile when he asked if everything was okay, and then shook her head before retiring to her room. Noel let her have her privacy, instead taking Lana away from a grateful Sazh and letting her yank on his hair instead and coo spit bubbles against the side of his neck.   
  
“A fully cooked turkey this close to Christmas was a long shot,” Sazh mused. “Heck, where do they even sell fully cooked turkeys?”  
  
They were interrupted as the front door opened again, and Noel leaned over the back of the couch in the living room where he had Sazh had taken up residence in order to stay out of the way while Serah stormed through the house. Lana made a protesting noise as Noel’s hair slipped from her grasp, and she blew a wet raspberry.   
  
Lightning stepped through the door, a large package under one arm and another one dangling from her fingers, while her other arm dragged a large sack through the door behind her.   
  
“Whoa, there,” Sazh spoke up, leaning forward from where he was seated in the armchair. “We’ve got a real live Santa coming through.”  
  
“Funny.” Lightning responded dryly, letting the sack drop onto the ground as she kicked the door closed behind her. The package, however, she set down very gently before she yanked off her scarf and shrugged out of her winter coat, hanging it on the coat rack. “Where’s Serah?”  
  
“Escaped to her room.” Sazh informed her, and then gestured to her packages, moving to stand. “You need some help with that, soldier girl?”  
  
“Please.” The word was curt, but it was as much courtesy as anyone was likely to get out of her. Lightning yanked off her thick winter gloves and tossed them on the foyer bench before kicking off her mud-covered boots as well, and finally breathing out in relief as the last of the encumbersome clothing was tossed to the side.   
  
Sazh moved to grab at the sack, glancing inside quickly to take in the haphazardly wrapped packages. “What’s all this, though?”  
  
Lana made a happy shriek and reached her arms toward Lightning, wiggling hard enough that Noel had trouble keeping a solid grasp on the toddler. “Aah! Aaaaah-teeee! Aah-tee, Lana, up, up!”  
  
Lightning just reached out a hand to ruffle at Lana’s fluffy blonde hair, leaving Noel to hold onto the wiggling toddler and leaving her niece to babble baby-talk at her. “Not now, Lana. I’ve got things to put away. And ‘all this’ happens to be gifts, some more delicate than others.”  
  
Lana pouted at the tone and blew a gurgling spit-bubble at her.   
  
“Yeeeah,” Noel drew the word out with a sigh as he wiped at his sweater, grimacing at how wet the stain on his shoulder was. It would be sixth sweater Lana laid claim to with her spit since the beginning of his winter break. “The slobber monster’s found another victim today.”  
  
“Don’t let her eat your hair.” Lightning informed him as she breezed past with the larger of her packages.   
  
“Yeah, yeah— wait, what? She eats hair now?”  
  
“Don’t underestimate kids who eat legos.” Sazh added as he pulled at the sack and followed Lightning down the hallway.   
  
Noel hesitated, and then held Lana up at arms’ length away from himself. She gave him a toothy grin and clapped her hands together happily.   
  
.

.  
  
From what Lightning could wheedle from a distraught Serah, apparently Snow got his car stuck in a sinkhole and towing services were going to take hours to get to him thanks to the recent bout of black ice on the roads and the numerous accidents that needed to be attended to first.   
  
“First Lana swallowing a lego, then the fire and oven breaking, and now we’ve got no back-up turkey and Snow’s stuck out there.” Sazh whistled in sympathy. “Not a good day.”  
  
Indeed, Serah’s eyes were suspiciously pink when Lightning finally coaxed her little sister back out of her bedroom.   
  
“Sorry,” Serah murmured even as she clung to her sister’s hand, looking embarrassed. “I should have handled that better.”  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Noel reassured her brightly, shifting a sleepy toddler on his waist who was once again sucking on her pacifier and clutching a handful of his hair and another handful of his sweater. “None of this was your fault. Now, what do you need us to do?”  
  
Serah hesitated, looking to her sister, who smiled softly at her and nodded. “I… Sazh, is it okay…?”  
  
“I can pick Snow up.” The older man reassured her. “And whatever groceries you need.”  
  
“It’s just a few vegetables.” Serah said quietly, sounding grateful. “Snow has the list of what burned in the oven.”  
  
“You can put Lana down for her afternoon nap,” Lightning spoke up, nodding towards Noel, who had an arm under the toddler and another hand resting gently on her blond hair. “She’ll be out for a few hours. As for me…” She crossed her arms under her chest, eyes narrowing. “I’ll take care of Micah and Camden.”  
  
“Don’t scare them too badly,” Serah said for her children’s benefit. “They’ve already been scolded by both Snow and me.”  
  
“Don’t worry,” Lightning reassured. “I’ll just make sure that things like this don’t happen again. They’ll have to work if they want to get their Christmas gifts this year.”  
  
“So the packages are for them?” Noel asked, curiosity piqued.   
  
“They’re for Lana now.” Lightning told him. “I’ll put it under the tree in a bit.”  
  
“Hope phoned and said he was picking up Fang and Vanille and they should be here before five thanks to him managing to get away early enough to avoid the traffic rush.” Serah wrung her hands, looking contemplative. “If I get get dinner finished by six … that would give us maybe three hours to get everything finished?”  
  
“We can do it.” Noel reassured her. “I mean, how hard can it be?”  
  
.

.  
  
In retrospect, taunting the universe might not have been the best move to make, especially since not an hour after they decided on a game plan, Lightning’s little Christmas present to her nephews (now just to her niece, apparently) decided to reveal itself in a dramatic way.   
  
“What was that?” Serah asked, freezing where she was in the middle of peeling potatoes over the sink, eyes wide as a crashing sound rang through the house. Noel tensed, chef’ knife in mid-slice with the broccoli on the cutting board. He exchanged a look with Serah and switched the grip on his knife, holding it downwards instead as he headed out toward the living room where the sound originated.   
  
“What—”  
  
“Oh, no,” Serah breathed out as she looked out from behind him, cutting off Noel’s shocked exclamation.   
  
The loud crash had been the Christmas tree, nearly seven feet tall and wrapped in tangles of lights and dense amounts of ornaments, having fallen over into the fireplace, which was luckily unlit but still sooty enough to kick up a small cloud of dark dust that covered the stockings hung in front of them and a small amount of the white carpet in the living room.   
  
Multiple of the gifts under the tree had been shredded as well, bits and pieces of colorful wrapping paper tossed just about everywhere if they were already dented and crushed by the Christmas tree.   
  
At the foot of the mess was a happy brown Labrador puppy wrestling with a small stuffed animal that was possibly for Lana, having pulled the soft doll straight out of its box to shake it about as the puppy growled and braced its front paws into the carpet simulating a playful fight, tail wagging furiously.   
  
“Light said she’d be sedated for at least five hours.” Serah exclaimed in dismay, entirely unsurprised by the puppy in the center of the living room, although she did look dismayed by the mess.  
  
“You mean she had a dog in her gift box this entire time?” Noel relaxed his grip on the knife, now feeling silly for being so cautious. He backed up a step as the puppy let go of the soft doll and gave a happy yip in his direction.   
  
“It was a carrier, and there were holes in it. The poor thing just finished her series of vaccinations this afternoon, so she’s supposed to be out for a while yet, but…”  
  
Serah bent down and wiped her hands on her apron before reaching to pick up the exuberant puppy, the canine wagging its tail and licking at her fingers and then hands and then face when she brought it up to her. It yipped again, surprisingly quiet when Noel expected the puppy to bring the rest of the household down with its barking.   
  
“We’re going to have to hide her before any of the kids come down.” Serah told Noel.   
  
Too late, they heard even footsteps come down the stairs.   
  
“What’s going on?” Lightning demanded before she came into view of the living room, and her eyes widened in surprise as she took in the fallen tree, destroyed presents, and soot spilled over a fourth of the room.   
  
Serah shook her head quickly, waving her free arm at her sister, other arm curled around the happy puppy. “No, no, don’t come down! We can’t let the kids see this!”  
  
“They’re not allowed out of their room until they’ve each done fifty push-ups.” Lightning said, descending the rest of the stairs and looking rather taken aback by the sheer amount of destruction that one small puppy managed within the span of less than a minute. “The first one to finish gets out of sit-ups, so we won’t have to worry about them. Neither of them’s going to let the other one win, so they can’t cheat.”  
  
“I can’t even be surprised anymore.” Serah admitted as her sister approached her. “This entire day has been disastrous — of course this would happen, too. At this point I’d just like to be able to have dinner without a surprise snowstorm taking out the power in this entire area.”  
  
“You think that would ruin your dinner?” Lightning asked.   
  
Serah looked conflicted for a moment before she straightened up and shook her head. “Definitely not. It doesn’t matter what else goes wrong today. I’ll figure out a way through.”  
  
“Good.” Lightning responded, and then reached to take the slobbering puppy away from her little sister. “Because you get to call in the reinforcements.”  
  
.

.  
  
“I’m home!” Snow called out the moment he got through the door, sounding chipper as he threw his arms out wide and nearly hit the walls of the small foyer. “And I’ve brought some Christmas elves to save the day!”  
  
“Call me an elf one more time, and you won’t be awake to see Christmas day.” Lebreau’s voice came from behind him, and Snow yelped and jumped forward, a hand going up to protect the back of his head. “Or I can help Serah find a new father for her children. Either one works and will depend on how hard I decide to hit you.”  
  
“Hey, Serah!” Maqui piped up as he stepped through the door after Lebreau, waving cheerfully. “I know you said six for dinner, but we came early to help out!”  
  
“Where’s the disaster?” Yuj called out from after them even as Gadot stepped through the door after Maqui and gave a much more somber, although just as warm, greeting while he took off his scarf and hat to hang up on the coat rack. “Give me half an hour and I’ll work my magic.”  
  
“Thank you guys so much for coming.” Serah told them with a smile, heading straight for her husband and wrapping her arms around him even as he kissed her on the top of her head and struggled to untangle his scarf without choking himself. She enjoyed the embrace for a moment before looking up at him and mouthing, _what took so long?_  
  
“Oh.” Snow brightened as he wrapped his arms around his wife. “Good news. We had to take a slight detour, but Maqui’s managed to tow our car back to the garage for repairs.”  
  
“I’ll have it up and purring before Christmas.” The blond mechanic promised, saluting with a boyish grin. “And that’s a Lenora Garage promise.”  
  
“Wow.” Yuj managed as he took in the living room. The blue-haired fashionista whistled, bringing his hands up to imitate seeing through a camera as he brought his thumb and index finger of each hand up and formed a rectangle.. “This place really took a beating, didn’t it?”  
  
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Serah told them, feeling relieved to finally be able to rant about this and know that she was going to get help from people who knew exactly what to do in this situation. “It’s been one disaster after next today… if everyone weren’t here helping me deal with it…”  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Gadot reassured her, patting her shoulder as he strode past with a box of tools. “Yuj and Maqui will help take care of your living room. I’ll get that oven up and working again.”  
  
“And I’m going to help with dinner.” Lebreau interjected, revealing the several large plastic bags she brought inside with her. “We couldn’t find turkey on such short notice, but we’ve got five roasted chickens and if we don’t get enough time to cook, then there’s always take-out menus.”  
  
"It's not about perfect Christmas dinners, it's about who you share them with." Maqui said, holding up a finger and sounding like he was quoting something. He grinned afterward, raising his other hand to fiddle with the goggles he constantly wore on his head. "Or at least, that's what Lebreau used to say to get us to eat the first of her attempts at cooking."  
  
"You." Lebreau pointed at him threateningly, gesturing back at her own eyes in a 'I'm watching you' symbol as she glared and moved toward the kitchen in order to drop the food off. "Shut it. I was born a perfect cook."  
  
She disappeared into the kitchen as Yuj moved to assess the damage the Christmas tree and puppy caused and Maqui just gave a sheepish grin in response. Merely a moment later, she could be heard shouting, “Out! My kitchen, my rules!”  
  
Noel emerged from the kitchen area just a few moments later, still wiping down his hands on the apron he borrowed off Serah.   
  
“Here,” Serah told him, handing him a card as she took in his bewildered expression, “can you run down to the store really quick for me? I need you to help me get a packet of anti-histamines.”  
  
Noel blinked, and accepted the card. “Allergies?”  
  
“Since there’s probably dog fur all over the carpet now.” Serah agreed. “Mrs. Estheim is slightly allergic, and I don’t want Hope to be uncomfortable if he is as well.”  
  
Noel grimaced, recalling an incident years ago when he borrowed a kitten from a friend after the calico cat had been brought for show and tell in school, and trying to show it to Hope only to have the older boy run from him. It took nearly ten minutes of Noel trying to chase him down with a kitten in tow before he made out the panicked shouts about how Hope was severely allergic to cats.  
  
“Got it.” He raised the card in a salute. “I’ll be right back, then.”

  
.

.  
  
Thanks to the amount of people out still doing frantic holiday shopping, it took over half an hour for Noel to slip through the crowds and stand in line, and push and shove his way out from the closest store only to make his way back to Serah’s house with a small paper bag in hand. He couldn’t help but notice Hope’s car at the curb, prompting him to hurry in his steps.   
  
The front door was unlocked, and Noel didn’t feel the need to announce his presence as he opened the door to hear loud laughter and numerous people talking over each other.   
  
“Yeah, and I told him,” Fang was standing in a corner of the crowded living room by the repaired Christmas tree that looked like it was pissing more than a few pine needles but at the same time even brighter than before with garlands and tinsel wrapped around it in multiple colors. She had her hair up in a messy bun (likely styled by Vanille, from what it looked like) and waved around a slim, half filled glass that was of a color that signified an alcoholic nature. “That if if it was flirting he was after, he’d be barking up the wrong tree. Since he wanted my advice and all.”  
  
The others laughed, and Fang looked up with a grin to see Noel at the door. She waved her drink at him in greeting, gesturing him over. “If it isn’t my prodigal student! What kept you?”  
  
“Line ups at the store.” Noel responded honestly, making his way over to the small group by the Christmas tree. Everything was cleaned up, and even the fireplace was entirely clean from soot. Team NORA had done a heck of a job within the time period they had been given. Noel wondered if dinner was coming along just as well as this room. He looked around the crowded living room. “Where’s Hope?”  
  
“Of course that’d be the first thing you ask.” Fang told him with a fake sigh of disappointment, and Sazh laughed next to her. “He’s out back with Vanille, getting some firewood from the shed. We’re going to have a real fire tonight.”  
  
“I’ll go help.” He offered, escaping the conversation even as Fang started on another story for Sazh.  
  
He darted through the kitchen, apologizing quickly as Lebreau started yelling at him for invading, and ducking around Gadot, who was carrying a platter of something that looked bright red, before slipping out the back door.   
  
He nearly ran into Vanille immediately outside, the chipper woman startling slightly at his sudden presence in front of her for a brief moment before she smiled in greeting. She had an armful of dry and cut up logs as well as smears of dirt stains on her coat.   
  
“Noel!” Vanille greeted cheerfully. “Serah said you were out.”  
  
“I was.” Noel responded, offering to help take some of her burden, which she shook her head in response even as her smile widened at the gesture. He glanced behind her, though, looking eager to find her companion. “I didn’t see her inside. I have to give her card back. She sent me out for allergy meds in case anyone needed it.”  
  
“Oh, that’s a good idea.” Vanille responded, and then grinned as she noticed how distracted he was. “He’s still in the shed. You know… I don’t think it would hurt to get a third batch, if you want to help carry these in.”  
  
She winked, and the slipped around him for the kitchen door. “Don’t take too long back there, though, or people might start getting ideas!”  
  
.

.  
  
The sky was a rich red orange in the background of Serah’s garden, the sun barely clinging on and already unseen except for its influence in the brilliant canvas across the sky. The ground was muddy with recent rains and squished with each step that Noel took as he approached the tiny shack in the corner of the backyard, seeing the illumination from inside as a figure moved to gather firewood.   
  
He knocked on the open doorway of the flimsy shack once, twice, and then grinned as the person inside looked up curiously, feeling almost giddy to see those pale eyes again after a week away.   
  
“Hey,” he greeted casually, leaning an arm on the doorframe. “I heard I could be of some help around here.”  
  
“Oh.” Hope responded, and then smiled at him. “I did hear that Serah wanted some help with clearing out her garden.”  
  
Noel opened his mouth to protest and elaborate on how he was offering to help _Hope_ when the other man smiled and continued, “Kidding. I assume Vanille said we might need a third load.”  
  
“Something like that, yeah.” Noel stepped into the small shack, eying the spider webs in the ceiling corners. Other than the firewood and some gardening tools along with some shelves and a lawnmower that had seen better days, the shack seemed rather small and dirty. It was rather obvious that come the winter seasons, the garden didn’t see all that much tending.   
  
Hope hummed in agreement, passing off several logs even as he continued his search. “...I don’t think Serah has any kindling here, though.”  
  
“It’s okay, I know she puts aside dryer lint for this very reason. That burns just as easily.”  
  
“Have you been here helping out all day?” Hope asked, crouching down to gather more of the smaller cuts of firewood. He frowned a bit and had to sift through some logs as the damp had gotten to the edges of some of the firewood. “I thought you’d have a dozen Christmas party invitations, especially this weekend.”  
  
“Yeah, not that many.” Noel corrected, feeling his previous smile strain as he adjusted his grip on the firewood. “It’s been busy, but that’s mostly at home. This is the only party I can make, and I’m not definitely not abandoning Serah’s party for any others that might be happening.”  
  
Hope looked up, startled. “Oh, I didn’t mean—”   
  
_Maybe you’re just reading too much into things._  
  
It was strange, to be so glad to see Hope but at the same time so uneasy due to their last conversation (one that Noel might have been mulling over unnecessarily the past week at random moments). He shook his head, pushing aside those thoughts. Maybe his tone had been too harsh in response, but that was purely unintentional. He really had to get over his insecurities before he started snapping at people during Serah’s party. Wouldn’t that just be the crowning glory to the poor woman’s terrible day?  
  
“Sorry.” Noel apologized quickly before Hope could even register what he was apologizing for. “It’s been an eventful day. Did anyone tell you about all the things that went wrong today?”  
  
Hope stood back up again, this time with his choice pieces of wood and with a far more hesitant demeanor. “I registered that Lebreau took over the kitchen.”  
  
“That’s actually her saving dinner.” Noel informed him as he pushed exited the shack and saw just how much darker the sky had gotten within the minute. The stars were out already, dulled slightly by the amount of lights everyone was hanging out for the holidays. Hope followed him out with a quick yank at the thin chain that connected to the single light bulb in the shack, and pulling the flimsy wooden door shut.   
  
It was easier for Noel to focus on the events of the day rather than linger on mentally berating himself for snapping at Hope and overreacting to something that was so obviously not meant to be condescending, but…   
  
He blotted out those thoughts.   
  
“The oven actually caught fire earlier! So, yeah, we’re not exactly having turkey tonight…”  
  
.

.  
  
They got the fireplace crackling soon enough, and Serah thanked Noel for his side trip even as Hope confirmed that he wasn’t allergic to dogs (cats, on the other hand…) even as Vanille pulled out some holiday music that was more soft and lulling than should be allowed.   
  
Serah’s kids were released into the thick of the party soon enough, and Noel allowed himself to bask in the shrill laughter of children and the warmth of the overflowing house stuffed far more of people than comfortable. He tended to have to slip carefully around people if he wanted to get more than two steps, and could already see Snow bringing in patio chairs and such to the dining room just to fit everyone. As it was, the kids would have to sit at their own little table and most of the adults would have to cram as tight as possible to fit around the dining table.   
  
As roomy as her dining room usually was, it would get rather cramped trying to fit fifteen laughing people into.  
  
“Coming through!” Snow announced cheerily as he appeared from the kitchen with a large platter of mugs. “Breaking out the eggnog, everyone take a glass. Safe for kids, too, so if you want to add something of your own, you might want to mix that up yourself.”  
  
The children cheered at being included, although little Lana was given only her usual bottle of milk. It looked similar enough to the eggnog that she sucked contentedly at her bottle and settled into the middle of the sofa without a complaint, blond hair in multiple red ribbons to match the little red velvet dress that Serah managed to wrestle her into earlier.   
  
“That’s a… rather large mug.” Hope commented as Snow shoved a cup into his hands, the ceramic a gaudy red and green Christmas themed mug that depicted something about Rudolph and the other reindeer.   
  
“We’ve got a lot of toasts to go through.” Snow explained with a grin, and then turned his attentions to handing off the rest of his mugs even as Noel stepped up to Hope quietly, already downing more than half his mug of eggnog before bringing his cup down and tilting it slightly in Hope’s direction.   
  
The scientists mouthed a quick thanks as he poured half the contents of his mug into Noel’s cup before Snow turned back again, and the two of them smiled innocently back at him. Hope had both hands on his mug, refraining from bringing up his distaste of the drink since he only ever toasted with it anyway and it wasn’t an outright hatred.   
  
“Make way!” Lebreau called triumphantly from within the kitchen. “Because dinner is _served_.”  
  
From then, it was dish after dish being carted from the kitchen to the dining room: steaming vegetables, roasted chickens, potatoes and rice and even curries that had obviously been hastily put together in place of the usual main dish. They settled around the table snatching seats where they could while dishes were filled for the children and they were allowed to seat in front of the television with their choice of cartoons.   
  
Noel managed to snag a seat between Hope and Vanille, the latter who winked at him playfully and raised her mug of eggnog in a toast to him before Snow even started on the toasting. It was crowded and perhaps overly warm in the room with a cacophony of mish mashed noises from carols still playing and the television in the background along with everyone speaking about what they had been up to since the last time they all came together like this.   
  
“This is amazing,” Noel commented to Lebreau across the table. He was certain that he had been gone from the house for less than an hour, and not only had Team NORA managed to fix everything up, but arranged most of the meal that had to be replaced. While he knew that Serah had plenty of back-up dishes, he could also easily discern the personal touches of dishes that Lebreau usually prepared at her bar.   
  
The older woman winked at him, pleased with his words. “Just a bit of Christmas magic.”  
  
They toasted the events of the past year, friends and family, and the year to come. Serah was slightly giggly at the end of it, making Noel wonder just what else she mixed into her eggnog. The next hour was filled with hearty appetites and multiple people wandering in and out of the dining room as they slowly filled up and begged off from the seconds and thirds that Serah kept insisting on.   
  
The talking reminiscing and jokes slowed toward the end of the meal as wine was brought out and the merriment settled into contentment as people migrated between rooms for space and air. Noel spent much of that time laughing with Serah as her children were ushered to pick the largest present under the tree.   
  
“What is it?” Mica asked curiously as the wrapping was shredded to pieces between the two boys. “Is it a dollhouse for Lana?”  
  
“Dollhouses have _dolls_ ,” Camden insisted, inspecting the plastic carrier carefully. “It’s gotta be her new bed. She can sleep in it and mom and dad can carry her around.”  
  
Noel could see Fang shaking with laughter in the edge of his vision, the woman turned away with a hand tight against her mouth as she tried to contain her snickers. He could understand the sentiment, and wondered if the boys were playing dumb on purpose or if they really thought that they could have their baby sister carried around like that in a dog carrier.   
  
It was then that Lightning, who had earlier slipped upstairs undetected, came down with a wiggling brown form in her arms, decorated with a giant red bow.   
  
“One.” She drew the attention of the room to her, including the wide-eyes of the children whose eyes were just getting wider by the moment, “This is a test trial. You feed, wash, and clean up after this thing. You don’t give your parents any cause to take him away. Two: no more trying to blow up the kitchen. You can’t—”   
  
Whatever she was going to add was lost to the high-pitched shrieks of joy that erupted from the boys as they clambered over each other to rush to the wiggling puppy who looked just as happy to see them as them him.   
  
Lightning grunted as her nephews assaulted her sides in order to the first to be able to get the puppy away, glaring down at the children who were ignoring her. “You’re not _listening_.”  
  
“I think you’ve lost them completely.” Snow told her with a grin from where he was watching with an arm around Serah’s shoulders.   
  
“Puppy!” Micah agreed happily.  
  
It was then that the doorbell rang, and Serah excused herself from the amused crowd to go answer it. Her happy exclamation of ‘Yeul!’ drew Noel’s attention from the sight of Lightning attempting to keep a wiggling brown puppy high up in her arms while both her nephews tried to use their weight to hang onto her arms and hopefully reach their Christmas present.   
  
“Serah!” Yeul greeted back happily, stepping forward to hug the woman. Her hair was gathered into a ponytail save for the very front strands which framed her face, and her cheeks were rosy and red underneath the thick white scarf and warm winter coat.   
  
“Oh, look at you.” Serah’s voice was fond when she pulled back. “You’ve gotten so tall! And Caius — you haven’t changed a bit. Oh, come in before you freeze to death outside…”  
  
Yuel was giggling even as she stepped inside, her guardian following closely behind. “Oh, we’ve been to colder places. It’s always so nice and warm around here…”  
  
By then, Noel had managed to slip his way around the crowd of people between himself and his cousin, and grinned widely to see the familiar dour expression of Caius’s and the bright eyes of his favourite cousin in the whole world.   
  
“Yeul!” He called out, opening his arms to embrace her and then deciding at the last moment to also lift her up and spin her in a circle in the limited amount of space in Serah’s foyer. She giggled as he swung her in the air, arms wrapped around his neck in a familiar warm embrace. “Happy solstice! Did you get lost along the way? How have you been? You guys are earlier than I thought you’d be—”   
  
“The flight was great.” Yeul cut him off once her feet were back on the ground, and turned her head to smile at Caius. “It was like a Christmas miracle: we weren’t delayed at all!”  
  
“Indeed.” Caius agreed, nodding his greeting to Serah even as he handed her a wrapped present and smiled as she gasped and accepted with thanks. “We hastened here as soon as our plane touched down.”  
  
“Oh, I’ll have to introduce you to everyone.” Serah gushed happily. “You’ll know my sister Lightning, but Snow was alway the last time you came around, and you probably haven’t met Sazh or Fang or Vanille.. oh, you haven’t even met Hope!”  
  
“Is he here?” Yuel asked excitedly, giving Noel a sly glance. “I’ve heard _all_ about him.”  
  
Noel only stood up straighter in response, willing his embarrassment away even as he sniffed at his cousin and pretended that her teasing didn’t bother him at all.   
  
“He just stepped out back.” Serah informed her, as if Noel wasn’t there at all even as she took Caius’s coat to hang on the rack. She had a strange grin as she turned to ask Noel, “Do you mind getting him while I introduce them to everyone else?”  
  
“What’s he doing out back?” He thought Hope had just been talking to Vanille when the kids opened their presents.   
  
“You know Hope. Needs his space every now and then. I think he’d like to meet Yeul, though. Do you mind?”  
  
“Of course not.” Noel nuzzled his nose against the top of Yeul’s head once more, making his cousin giggle at his antics before he released her altogether. “I’ll be right back.”  
  
It was easier this time to slip past this time into the kitchen where Maqui had been put to cleaning up some of the dishes already, but the man grinned at him and waved him through the back door. The rush of cool air was refreshing after the overwhelming warmth inside the house, and Noel breathed in deeply as he closed the door behind him, his lungs tingling at the cold of the night air.   
  
Hope stood leaning on the thin metal railings of the patio, his gaze falling from the stars mostly hidden behind wispy clouds as he acknowledged Noel’s presence. The slight smile he gave in greeting made the younger man catch his breath.   
  
“Too warm?” The scientist asked him as Noel went to stand next to him, deciding that a few more moments outside wouldn’t hurt. It would take time for Yeul and Caius to adjust to everyone, anyway, never mind getting introduced to all of them. He could take a few moments outside.  
  
“Kind of.” Noel admitted. “Yeul’s here.”  
  
“Oh? I thought you’d be busy catching up.”  
  
“I will, later.” He had the rest of his vacation to catch up with her. “Right now, I think she’d rather meet everyone.”  
  
Hope made an acknowledging noise, turning his gaze back to the night sky. “Well… I wanted to speak with you, anyway. I suppose now’s as good a time as any.”  
  
Noel could feel his throat close up. He _hadn’t_ been overthinking things, then. He listed time and again in his head why he wasn’t just some immature kid, but now when he needed every tally, his mind was blank. He wanted to tell Hope that just because he was years younger didn’t mean he was _too young_. It was something he had been too scared to address in the past several months, watching Hope head to work while he went off to his own classes and his sports and clubs.   
  
The difference between them seemed so stark, and yet he didn’t feel they were that different at all.   
  
“Hope, I—”   
  
“I never really participated in what most people think of as university life.” Hope spoke, cutting him off. The older man never took his eyes away from the stars. “Never really went to any… Christmas parties other students would host, or birthday parties or drinking parties or whatever it is that happens. I guess I was too young, so I never really connected with anyone during that time. Most of the people I interacted with were far older than me, and I was always just focused on my studies. I don’t mean to— pry, I suppose. You’re much better with people than I am, and I assumed you’d be spreading your time spending it with numerous schoolmates. I didn’t mean to offend.”  
  
Noel remembered suddenly just how sharp his tone had been earlier, and pulled back with a hint of a guilty grimace. It seemed he hadn’t been the only one overthinking things.   
  
“I just wanted to explain.” Hope continued, although he sounded uncertain. “If I’m being nosy about your affairs, you just need to inform me and I’ll stop.”  
  
“No!” Noel blurted out unthinkingly. “Nosy’s good. I mean, I like nosy— that’s not exactly right. What I mean is…” he made a distressed noise, bringing a hand to his forehead trying to force the correct words out. “I don’t mind. I like it when you ask about things like that. I was just worried…” he huffed out an embarrassed laugh. “I was worried about the wrong thing, I guess. Maybe. I’m not sure. It doesn’t really matter, though. You know, you’re always welcome to join me in my ‘affairs’. You’re not too old to miss out on college life yet.”  
  
It was hard to tone down the hopefulness, especially in knowing that it hadn’t been Hope thinking him _too young_.   
  
Hope relented a soft smile after a while. “I admit, it’s not really my thing.”  
  
“Yeah, not really mine either.” Noel shifted, trying to sound casual about it. “But, you know… things like this, and dinners and movies… that’s good. I don’t really need a big _group_... Just. You know. Someone else. And the moment then and there.”  
  
He winced slightly, but grinned as Hope glanced in his direction. Way to take advantage of the moment…  
  
“That sounds nice.” Hope admitted. The man smiled. “...Easier.”  
  
There was a sudden and intense relief in the realization that he managed to get this conversation _right_ somehow (or maybe he was overthinking that as well because was there such a thing as right or wrong conversations?), and Noel relaxed and smiled. “By the way, Yeul’s pretty interested in meeting you, if you feel like going inside again.”  
  
There was only a momentary hesitation before Hope pushed back from the railings. “Sure. I’d love to meet this precious cousin of yours. What was it you said before? That she’s the very most beautiful in the world?”  
  
“She _is_.” Noel gushed, and then slipped into an easy grin as they reached the back door. “And you’re still up there too, you know. The list hasn’t changed.”  
  
“What, no reshuffling at all? I’d have thought you met plenty of people in your journey around the world—”   
  
“Stop! Don’t move!”  
  
The both of them froze under the doorway with Hope’s hand still on the doorknob, letting the cold night air blow inside as Serah stood at the edge of the kitchen with both arms out in a universal ‘halt’ gesture. Despite her sharp words and pose, there was a mischievous glint in her eyes, and the crowding of too many people behind her looking in their direction with that same mischievous glint. Even Yeul was there, ducked by Serah’s side with her phone out.   
  
Very slowly, Serah pointed up with her outstretched hands, a grin spreading across her face in a very un-Serah-like manner more befitting one of her troublemaking children. “You’re not allowed to move until you fulfill the traditions of what you’re standing under.”  
  
Noel looked up, and felt his breath catch. _Mistletoe._  
  
The sprig was very obviously fake with shiny green leaves in exaggerated points and glinting red berries and even a long stem hastily taped to the doorframe with one side puckered where the plastic folded over itself to fuse together.   
  
“That wasn’t there before.” Hope accused.   
  
“Surprise!” Vanille said in response behind the crowd, sounding immensely proud of herself. “Don’t worry, that’s not the only place I’ve put those!”  
  
It was the type of moment he’d been waiting for… for a very long time, and yet when Noel looked back down from the mistletoe again to see the happy faces of his friends and Hope with a hand pressed over his eyes at his side, clearly exasperated with the lot of them… he didn’t know what to do.   
  
He just stood there, dumbfounded.   
  
“The moment then and there, huh…?” Hope murmured, and then brought his hand down, pale green eyes meeting Noel’s own. “Well, I hope you don’t mind. They probably won’t let us leave otherwise, and I don’t fancy being stuck here the rest of the night.”  
  
“Mind…?” Noel shook himself out of his mental reverie, grasping onto the situation. “Absolutely not. You’re right, being stuck here would be a terrible thing. I mean, it’s right by the door and we’re letting all the warm air out—”   
  
It was Hope who moved first, taking Noel entirely by surprise when the older man leaned over (had they really already been standing that close to each other?) and tangling fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck as cold lips pressed against his own. It made sense, of course, since Hope had been standing outside for longer than Noel had, and…   
  
His mind blanked. That wasn’t the quick peck on the cheek he expected, and he found himself bringing him hands up to cup at Hope’s jaw, almost afraid a heavier touch would prove this to be just a strange daydream. And then soon, all too soon, the cool pressure against his lips was gone, leaving his skin tingling as he opened eyes he hadn’t known he had closed.   
  
And like that, it was like the rest of the world registered to his senses again, and he could hear the clicks of camera phones and see flashes of light amidst the cheers and happy laughter surrounding them. He saw Hope smile at him, just briefly, before the scientist ducked away to protest how they had been set up and how they were all terrible people, if not in as many words.   
  
Noel, however, stood still and let himself have just another moment to taste the lingering coolness on his lips.   
  
“ _Well_ ,” It was Yeul was pushed her way to him while Hope tried to herd the crowd away from the newest gossip on hand. She leaned up to him, hands clasped together in front of herself and her cheeks still rosy from the cold, smiling at him. “You two _do_ look very good together. I’ll send you a copy of the pictures.”  
  
He resisted the urge to bring a hand up to his lips. “Good first impression?”  
  
“The best. Happy early Christmas, by the way. I know where Vanille taped all the other mistletoe and I can tell you where they are.”  
  
He looked down at her too wide, too innocent green eyes, and then over to where Hope was arguing with Snow while the blond laughed hard enough that he was slightly bent over with an arm wrapped around his middle. The scientist looked rather flustered, but still stood tall and stubborn as he continued his tirade against the man who was barely paying any attention to his words due to laughter.   
  
“You’re my very favourite cousin.” Noel told her.   
  
“I’m your _only_ cousin.” Yeul shot back, but then her smile gentled. “That’s okay. You’re my only cousin, too. So introduce me to the boy you proposed to when you were eight.”  
  
“You’re also the worst cousin.” Noel grumbled, as she linked her arm with his and prompted him forward.   
  
“I’m the very _best_. Mistletoe locations, remember?”  
  
They approached the two together, and Snow gave him a thumbs up as they came near.   
  
“Don’t worry about it, Hope.” Snow said as his laughter passed. “But hey, I need to check up on what Serah might need. I think there’s someone Noel wants to introduce you to, anyway.”  
  
The blond patted Hope on the shoulder briefly, and then gave a cheerful greeting to both Noel and Yeul before he turned to find his wife, nearly tripping over his sons as they ran past chasing an energetic puppy.  
  
Yeul took that cue to introduce herself rather than wait for her cousin to do so for her, smiling widely as she met Hope’s gaze. “You must be Hope. Noel’s told me so much about you! I’ve been waiting years to meet you, and you’re just as pretty as he described.”  
  
Noel could feel his face heat as he hissed at his cousin, “Yeul!”  
  
Hope looked taken aback for just a moment before he smiled in response. “You must be Yeul, then. He’s said so much about you as well: including that you’re the most beautiful person in the world. I see he doesn’t exaggerate that part.”  
  
Yeul laughed, easing something in Noel he hadn’t known had coiled up even as she slipped from his grasp to wrap an arm around Hope’s own, head barely reaching his shoulder level but already beaming up at him and stealing mischievous glances in Noel’s direction. “Oh, I think we’re going to get along just great.”  
  
He should be worried about the amount of _stories_ that Yeul was probably going to reveal about him, but at the moment Noel couldn’t help but relax as he listened to two of his favourite people in the world chat and laugh in the warmth of a home bustling with friends and family.   
  
Maybe he wasn’t all that interested in the very college things that Hope imagined him interested in. Maybe he would find that interest later, or not at all. But at the moment, Noel was glad just to be in the midst of so many people he cared about. It didn’t even matter that it had been a disaster earlier in the day.   
  
He could hear the low murmurs as Caius and Lightning spoke in the background, as Sazh exchanged recipes with Lebreau, as Serah tried to catch her children with exasperated scolding not to run in the house, and as Fang and Vanille laughed over something Snow said. There were more voices beyond that, and music and white noise in the background.   
  
“—Must have been so busy all day, though.” Hope was telling Yeul, before he turned his gaze to Noel. “I heard a lot of things went wrong today.”  
  
Yeul also looked in his direction for confirmation curiously, but Noel just shook his head with a smile.   
  
“No way.” He assured them. “Everything went perfectly today.”


End file.
